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Mudlark: A Novel
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25 copies available
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A dazzling dystopian novel about the fall of a troubled rockstar, her long-lost solo album, and her daughter's epic search for redemption in the ruins of New York City.
"Combines the spellbinding worldbuilding of Station Eleven with a rock-and-roll heart . . . A luscious, awe-inspiring, and gorgeously written novel about love and how it will save us, no matter what the future holds."—Amanda Eyre Ward
Jenny Sweet's marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.
Now twenty-five, Neko is a a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother's fate—and her own.
A profound tale of resilience set in a future wracked by calamity and buoyed by hope, Mudlark is an unforgettable novel that explores how love and art persist as beacons of humanity.
"Combines the spellbinding worldbuilding of Station Eleven with a rock-and-roll heart . . . A luscious, awe-inspiring, and gorgeously written novel about love and how it will save us, no matter what the future holds."—Amanda Eyre Ward
Jenny Sweet's marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.
Now twenty-five, Neko is a a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother's fate—and her own.
A profound tale of resilience set in a future wracked by calamity and buoyed by hope, Mudlark is an unforgettable novel that explores how love and art persist as beacons of humanity.
400 pages, Paperback
Expected publication July 21, 2026
About the author
Mary Helen Specht
2 books68 followersBorn and raised in Abilene, Texas, Mary Helen Specht has a B.A. in English from Rice University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College, where she won the department’s fiction award. Her writing has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and has appeared in numerous publications, including: The New York Times; The Colorado Review; Prairie Schooner; Michigan Quarterly Review; The Southwest Review; Florida Review; Southwestern American Literature; World Literature Today; Blue Mesa; Hunger Mountain; Bookslut; The Texas Observer; and Night Train, where she won the Richard Yates Short Story Award.
A past Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht teaches creative writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Her first novel, Migratory Animals, will be published by Harper Perennial on January 20, 2015.
A past Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht teaches creative writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Her first novel, Migratory Animals, will be published by Harper Perennial on January 20, 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Mudlark. The thing that stood out most to me was how it managed to feel slightly dystopian while still remaining believable. The world never felt so far removed from reality that it was hard to imagine, which made the story even more compelling.
The characters were strong and well-developed, and I found myself invested in what happened to them. That said, I definitely preferred the chapters set in the dystopian present over the sections told from the mother’s point of view in the past. Those chapters provided important context, but I was always more eager to get back to the main storyline.
My biggest criticism is that there were quite a few overly complex words that didn’t seem to add much to the story. More than once I found myself stopping to look something up, which pulled me out of the narrative. A richer vocabulary can certainly enhance a book, but here it occasionally felt distracting.
Overall, though, this was an engaging and thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unsettlingly plausible vision of the future. I’d definitely be interested in reading a sequel if one is in the works.
4 stars.
I really enjoyed Mudlark. The thing that stood out most to me was how it managed to feel slightly dystopian while still remaining believable. The world never felt so far removed from reality that it was hard to imagine, which made the story even more compelling.
The characters were strong and well-developed, and I found myself invested in what happened to them. That said, I definitely preferred the chapters set in the dystopian present over the sections told from the mother’s point of view in the past. Those chapters provided important context, but I was always more eager to get back to the main storyline.
My biggest criticism is that there were quite a few overly complex words that didn’t seem to add much to the story. More than once I found myself stopping to look something up, which pulled me out of the narrative. A richer vocabulary can certainly enhance a book, but here it occasionally felt distracting.
Overall, though, this was an engaging and thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unsettlingly plausible vision of the future. I’d definitely be interested in reading a sequel if one is in the works.
4 stars.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.
Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.
In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn't want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max's, Neko's, and Jenny's lives.
In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn't know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.
This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.
The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don't have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn't have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.
If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.
My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn't really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters' heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.
Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.
In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn't want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max's, Neko's, and Jenny's lives.
In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn't know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.
This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.
The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don't have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn't have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.
If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.
My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn't really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters' heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Characters: 3.00⭐️
Setting: 3.75⭐️
Plot: 3.00⭐️
Themes: 3.50⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 2.50⭐️
Emotional Impact: 2.00⭐️
Overall rating: 3.00⭐️
When reading this book, I was expecting the literary prose of a literary dystopian/climate crisis book like Station Eleven. However, I felt that there was a lot of unknowns to the story which left me feeling disconnected from the plot and the characters. I could not connect with this story or with our main character Neko. I understand that her past was being unraveled throughout the book, but for me it felt like it was taking too long to get there.
I did enjoy the idea of the "mudlarks", people who would go into the sunken city of Manhattan to gather resources to bring back to the camps. I enjoyed Neko's task at hand when she finds a master of her mother's solo album and trying to find out who exactly wanted that artifact, but I don't know. There was something just not connecting me with this story which is unfortunate which I know is more of me problem than anything else.
Would I recommend this book? Maybe. It was not for me but I think other people would really enjoy this book.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for sending me a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
Setting: 3.75⭐️
Plot: 3.00⭐️
Themes: 3.50⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 2.50⭐️
Emotional Impact: 2.00⭐️
Overall rating: 3.00⭐️
When reading this book, I was expecting the literary prose of a literary dystopian/climate crisis book like Station Eleven. However, I felt that there was a lot of unknowns to the story which left me feeling disconnected from the plot and the characters. I could not connect with this story or with our main character Neko. I understand that her past was being unraveled throughout the book, but for me it felt like it was taking too long to get there.
I did enjoy the idea of the "mudlarks", people who would go into the sunken city of Manhattan to gather resources to bring back to the camps. I enjoyed Neko's task at hand when she finds a master of her mother's solo album and trying to find out who exactly wanted that artifact, but I don't know. There was something just not connecting me with this story which is unfortunate which I know is more of me problem than anything else.
Would I recommend this book? Maybe. It was not for me but I think other people would really enjoy this book.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for sending me a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Really lovely, evocative writing. I took my time to take in and enjoy the writing, that's how good it was.
The characters were really fleshed out, and the interludes into the past with Neko's mother were perfect. You can see what the climate change disaster has imposed on society and the world, but I like that it's seen on a "small" everyday scale through Neko's eyes.
The descriptions of the ruined city were so visual and impactful. And throughout it all, the growth of Neko's character - or perhaps a better description is her growing in her insight of herself - and the internal wrestling as she remembers her relationship with her mother was fantastic.
There were also enough twists and turns throughout the plot to keep things interesting on a storyline level, and the ending was one I didn't see coming. Really well done.
The characters were really fleshed out, and the interludes into the past with Neko's mother were perfect. You can see what the climate change disaster has imposed on society and the world, but I like that it's seen on a "small" everyday scale through Neko's eyes.
The descriptions of the ruined city were so visual and impactful. And throughout it all, the growth of Neko's character - or perhaps a better description is her growing in her insight of herself - and the internal wrestling as she remembers her relationship with her mother was fantastic.
There were also enough twists and turns throughout the plot to keep things interesting on a storyline level, and the ending was one I didn't see coming. Really well done.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
First thank you Netgalley for letting me read this ARC.
Now for the book -it was a little out of my comfort zone, which makes me wonder why I requested it. The main character, Neko in the beginning is a 13 year old child and her parents are rockstars - and they are out at Burning Man at a concert- (all the time they are talking about a Hurricane that is about to hit the east coast) - she goes missing at the concert - and I was actually caught up in that part then boom we are the future. Climate change is real, the hurricane that hit put NYC underwater and now Neko is a diver - to save items that are underwater.
It was okay - but nothing I would recommend.
Now for the book -it was a little out of my comfort zone, which makes me wonder why I requested it. The main character, Neko in the beginning is a 13 year old child and her parents are rockstars - and they are out at Burning Man at a concert- (all the time they are talking about a Hurricane that is about to hit the east coast) - she goes missing at the concert - and I was actually caught up in that part then boom we are the future. Climate change is real, the hurricane that hit put NYC underwater and now Neko is a diver - to save items that are underwater.
It was okay - but nothing I would recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Powerful story, well written of a daughter who gets separated from her mother at Burning Man, told in that timeline and in the future where the effects of climate change dominate. It is character driven, story of relationships as her daughter, a scavenger, starts looking for her mother. The style was a little detached for my taste, that made it harder for me to get into it but it still was a strong work
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This lady can really write.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an advanced reader copy of Mudlark from NetGalley for an honest review.
When I picked up Mudlark, I went into it with an open mind; I'm glad I did this. Mudlark follows a woman named Neko as she navigates the waterlogged wasteland of New York. A child of rock stars, Neko struggles to find her place in their lives-this continues into adulthood as she navigates the dystopian landscape.
The POV switches between Neko and her mother, Jenny, as they share their stories.
I found myself most intrigued by the dystopian setting told through Neko's POV. The descriptions of New York are what really sold it for me.
Jenny's POV I found to be a bit ambiguous for me, but it was interesting to see the parallels between Neko and her mother as the story progressed.
When I picked up Mudlark, I went into it with an open mind; I'm glad I did this. Mudlark follows a woman named Neko as she navigates the waterlogged wasteland of New York. A child of rock stars, Neko struggles to find her place in their lives-this continues into adulthood as she navigates the dystopian landscape.
The POV switches between Neko and her mother, Jenny, as they share their stories.
I found myself most intrigued by the dystopian setting told through Neko's POV. The descriptions of New York are what really sold it for me.
Jenny's POV I found to be a bit ambiguous for me, but it was interesting to see the parallels between Neko and her mother as the story progressed.
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June 1, 2026giveaway entered 6/1
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews